Racism bedevils Texas town

[sabra]

Source: Chicago Trib

Allegations of discrimination in plant are latest flare-up in Paris


HOUSTON — Only a few weeks ago, race relations had reached such a low point in the troubled east Texas town of Paris that federal Justice Department mediators were called in to try to bring together black and white citizens, but the public meeting quickly dissolved into rancor.

Now fresh racial tensions are erupting inside one of the town's biggest employers, the Turner Industries pipe fabrication plant, where black employees charge that hangman's nooses, Confederate flags and racist graffiti have been appearing throughout the workplace for months.

One worker, Karl Mitchell, took pictures of the offensive symbols in early February and filed a formal complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last week. Other African-American employees assert that they've repeatedly complained about the racist symbols to their bosses, only to be ignored or told to keep quiet.

"Somebody had to step forward," said Mitchell, who also alleges a pattern of wage and promotion discrimination at the plant stretching back nearly two years. "They are so wide-open with and so certain that African-Americans aren't going to say anything about it."

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-paris_webfeb25,0,4203830.story

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A noose inside Turner Industries in Paris, Texas. Racist graffiti, a hangmanÂ’s noose and a Confederate flag have reportedly been displayed for months to intimidate black employees. Photo taken in January by Karl Mitchell, 41, an employee at the Turner Industries plant who has also filed a formal EEOC complaint alleging a pattern of discrimination at the plant. (Photo by Karl Mitchell / February 24, 2009)

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. Jesus fucking christ...

what is it going to take for some of these knuckledraggers to GET THE HELL OVER the bigotry thing???

I hope the AA workers sue and I hope they end up owning the whole damn company.

[snooper2]

3. death

in about 25 years a lot of the fuckers will have died off...

[Hell Hath No Fury]

6. You know, that's what I thought....

as soon as I typed that. :( More and more of them will just die off, and their ideas will stop being passed on to a new generation.

Hopefully.

[texanshatingbush]

13. Reminds me of something a sage old friend noted about our red hometown....

....."there's nothing wrong with this town that a few funerals wouldn't cure". The same statement probably applies to Paris TX today.

[No Elephants]

4. There is a renewal of it.

[No Elephants]

2. What is the owner doing about it? If nothing, African Americans just may end up owning this shop.

[jkappy]

5. And oh yea, Black History Month is unnecessary NOW

we have a Black President. Isn't that what we read every day in our morning papers.

[Politicalboi]

7. Where the hell is OSHA

That place is a mess and looks really dangerous. I hope the hell they sue and end up owning the company and firing all the red necks. My job I had in Morgantown Pa was a Titanium plant and if we as so much called someone a name (not racial) you got in trouble. If it had been racial or anti-gay you would be fired on the spot as it should be. Anyone in the area of Morgantown and is unemployed that is the best place to work. It's called Timet and they have profit sharing and medical benefits, 401k and more. They were hiring all the time I was there from 2004-2007 900 Hemlock Rd Morgantown Pa. I wish I was still there. I miss it.

[xchrom]

8. it does look possible a few regs are being violated. nt

[cannabis_flower]

10. To be fair about possible safety violations ....

that area looks like some kind of storage area. But the racism is really overt.

[Politicalboi]

14. Yes I agree about the racism

No one should have to put up with that shit. But even if that's a storage place that looks like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.

[cannabis_flower]

11. dupe

that area looks like some kind of storage area. But the racism is really overt.

[cannabis_flower]

12. dupe

that area looks like some kind of storage area. But the racism is really overt.

[Zodiak]

9. I think this is beyond racist symbols.

A noose is an implied threat, and way worse than just a confederate flag.

One more thing.....Paris Texas is no too far from Jasper Texas (hundred miles or so). You know, the place where that poor black man was dragged by a pickup truck with a chain around his neck until it popped off. Southeast Texas has a serious racism problem in the smaller towns...way worse than the normal background racism level in Texas (which is too high).

[Lithos]

15. Minor bit about geography

Paris and Jasper are around 250 miles apart, not 100. Paris is also not part of SE Texas, but is to the North East of Dallas, along the Red River (next to Oklahoma).

L-

[Zodiak]

21. Funny...I actually checked google maps before I posted

(because I was checking how close to Jasper) But if you know the area better than I do, I defer to your correction. I have been wrong many times before.

[Lithos]

22. Just looked

Google shows a driving distance of 253 miles.

L-

[noiretextatique]

16. i wonder if their intent is malevolent?

:sarcasm:

[santamargarita]

17. I spent a week there one afternoon

I could not wait get get out of that place!
:thumbsdown: :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:

[Taverner]

18. Oh but Texas isn't racist! No one in Texas is racist!!!!

:sarcasm:

[LanternWaste]

19. Rats-- I actually like Paris, TX.

Rats-- I actually like Paris, TX. And Honey Grove, too. I guess it has been twenty years since I've been there. I'll take my memories of the place over the here and now, I guess. :(

[Posteritatis]

20. The comments on that article are, ah, enlightening (nt)

[tomreedtoon]

23. Which Texas town? Doesn't matter, they're all the same.

This is the "small town America" that Republicans praise. Doesn't even have to be in Texas. These kind of places are typical outside of the big cities. Why is anyone so shocked?

[SeattleGirl]

24. Paris

However, I do believe that THIS Paris is nothing like the one over in France.

[tomreedtoon]

29. Paris, Texas, meet Hollywood, Florida.

That's one of the pretensions of small towns; that by taking on the name of big towns they can get some of the prestige (and maybe a few of the geographically confused tourists) of their bigger namesakes.

Of course, there is a pestilent little town called Cuba, Missouri. ("Mo Castro," they used to brag. But they also didn't have any good rum drinks or dancing girls or beaches. They did have a few hookers, though.)

And the only "stars" in Hollywood, Florida, are in the porn or exploitation films that were made there. When you saw a film saying "Made in Hollywood, USA," you know it wasn't the big Hollywood.

[SeattleGirl]

25. Their asses ought to be fired, immediately.

That shit is completely disgusting.

[Jamastiene]

26. That is a flagrant violation of their civil rights.

I hope the bosses and owners who did nothing to stop that intimidation get actual punishment and not some fine that doesn't affect them at all. They need to be punished. Intimidation in the workplace like that is terrorism, in my view.

[No Elephants]

27. And this is one of many reasons I am proud to be a card carrying member of the ACLU.

[Chovexani]

28. But, but

I thought the Confederate flag was just a harmless symbol of Southern heritage!

:sarcasm:

(Flag apologists, please take note of this article the next time you attempt to defend that shit.)